Because whatever the asking price might be, the Emirates club simply cannot match the kind of money which the Arab-backed superpowers are now willing to pay.

PSG, bankrolled by the Qatari Sports Investment group for the past six years, have somehow found their way around Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules to snatch Brazilian superstar Neymar from one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world.

A bewildered Wenger said: “Once a country owns a club, everything is possible.

"And, of course, we cannot compete at that level. This transfer is the consequence of the ownerships which have completely changed the whole landscape of football in the last 15 years.

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Arsene Wenger has seen Arsenal double the pay of Mesut Ozil, as well as Alexis Sanchez, as they face up the increased spending among Arab-backed Euro giants

“It becomes very difficult to respect Financial Fair Play because inflation is accelerating so fast that it is now beyond calculation or rationality.

“We crossed the £100m line last year and now, only one year later, we are already breaking the £200m barrier.

“When you think that it looked unreasonable when Trevor Francis became the first £1m player, it shows you the distance we have travelled and how big football has become.

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Neynmar was beginning to rival Lionel Messi for the role of Nou Camp's main man

“You cannot justify the numbers any more because we are no longer in a period where you think ‘If I invest this much in a player, I will get that much back’. We are beyond that now.

“I have always supported football living within its own resources.

“We still live with rationality. We are not the only ones. I think 99 per cent of the clubs do the same.

“But this transfer will have implications for everyone because of the consequences it will provoke.

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Neymar trained with Barcelona for the last time ahead of his move to PSG

“When Barcelona want to buy a player the other club will say, ‘My friends, you have £250m in your pocket’. So what today costs £50m will cost them £100m.

“You can no longer calculate what a player is worth. The price of a player now depends solely on the identity of the buyer and what that club can afford to spend.

“The financial potential of the buyer decides the price of today’s players.

“And if other clubs do not have that money, it becomes purely a monopoly.”

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The future of much-wanted Arsenal superstar Alexis Sanchez is still unclear

Neymar, 25, will become football’s first £½m-a-week footballer when he eventually completes his eye-watering move from the Nou Camp to the Parc des Princes. He will earn £250m over the next five years.

The knock-on effect of those wages are already being felt across Europe, with Arsenal offering to double the wages of top earners Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez this summer.

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Arsenal and Chile star Alexis Sanchez is still being linked with a move away from the Emirates but boss Arsene Wenger still expects the frontman to stay

Wenger admitted: “You can’t look at the figures in their absolute value any more because the wages in football have not been in line with everyday society for a long time.

“The numbers now are like the NBA in basketball. They are not comparable to normal life.

“They were already out of context — and with every new deal like Neymar, it just becomes a bit extra.”